Touching donation gives hope and relief 7-year-old shooting survivor

ST. LOUIS - Support continues to pour in for DeNiya Irving, the 7-year-old girl shot in the head in June in a north St. Louis quadruple shooting.

Monday, an anonymous donor surprised DeNiya, her younger sister and their grandmother with a van.

"God has been so good and I had no idea," said DeNiya's grandmother LaWanda Griffin when she saw the van. "I'm just so happy because we have problems with transportation."

Since DeNiya was released from the hospital, she and her grandmother have been taking a taxi to get to her physical and speech therapy sessions four times a week. LaWanda doesn't have a car of her own and she's on a fixed income.

When friends found out, they knew that they had to do something to help.

LaQonna Anderson thought about buying a van for the family and began calling friends to see if they'd like to pitch in.

"Another friend told me, wait don't buy the van yet, we have someone who will donate their van," said Anderson.

Doctors didn't expect DeNiya to survive her injuries and were even about to take her off life support, but miraculously she began to improve every day.

This generous gift will help her continue to recover.

"I just want to thank everyone," said Griffin. "It's so heartfelt, I just can't say it enough."

Besides the van, donations from the community have poured in to help pay for medical costs and school supplies. DeNiya's classmates are also thinking about a donation drive for her and her sister during to holidays. ​